DURHAM, N.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team was swept by the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday evening in Durham, N.C. With the loss, the Chanticleers dropped to 5-6 on the year and Duke improved to 8-2.
Coastal's offense was led by
Jasmine Rivest with 12 kills and
Dilara Unal with seven put downs. Rivest totaled two of the four service aces, while
Cagla Bengi finished with a team-high 13 assists.
Defensively, Coastal tallied four blocks as
Valentina Varani totaled three blocks on the front line. Freshman libero
Sydney Lewis tallied eight digs.
The Blue Devils were led by Gracie Johnson with 18 kills and Kerry Keefe with 11 kills while Emma Worthington tallied 37 assists. Madison Bryant finished with 15 digs for Duke.
The opening set saw Duke jump out to an early 5-0 lead to force the Chanticleers to call their first timeout of the set. After the break, CCU got on the scoreboard with a pair of miscues by the host team to trail 8-2. Coastal narrowed the margin to 9-4 on kills by Rivest and
Agata Lesiak.
However, the Blue Devils kept the Chants at bay answering each point to lead 12-8 before taking a 16-8 advantage with a 4-0 burst. The two teams traded the next six points all on errors by Duke with the Blue Devils leading 19-12. Duke would take a 1-0 match lead with the 25-14 opening set win.
In the second set, Coastal raced out to a 4-2 lead on three mistakes by Duke only to see the Blue Devils fight back with a 5-1 surge to take a 7-5 advantage. The Chants evened the set at 7-7 with a pair of points, highlighted by a put down by Varani. However, Duke fired off a 4-0 burst to lead 11-7 that included a timeout by the Chanticleers.
Coastal answered with a 3-1 spurt to narrow the deficit to 12-10, sparked by a
Lauren Malone spike and topped by a Lewis service ace. Duke opened its advantage to 17-11 with a 5-1 run only to see CCU respond with a 5-1 burst to trail 18-16. After trading the next seven points, Coastal Carolina called its final timeout of the set with the Blue Devils leading 22-19.
After the break, the Chants fought back to even the set at 24-24 with a 5-2 surge just to see Duke use a 3-1 spurt to win the second set 27-25 for a 2-0 match lead.
In the third and final set, Duke doubled up the Chanticleers 10-5 and forced the visitors to call their first timeout of the set. Coastal and the Blue Devils traded the next nine points, which included a pair of kills by freshman setter
Jalyn Stout, with Duke leading 14-10.
The Blue Devils opened a seven-point lead at 18-11 with a 4-1 run as Rivest tallied the lone Chanticleer point. After trading the next six points, Coastal trailed 21-14. The Chants used a 3-0 burst, highlighted by a Stout service ace to trail 21-17. Duke earned a 3-0 sweep with a 4-1 run to win the third set 25-18.
Coastal Carolina will remain in North Carolina for a matchup with North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sunday, Sept. 17, at noon ET.
For complete coverage of CCU women's volleyball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalVball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.